Page 120 of November

“Then, get yourself on an upcoming agenda.”

“I’d like to present at this one. I don’t have anything I can give you, and even if I did, I wouldn’t offer you anything in return for this, because I don’t like the world of political favors, but it’s ten minutes of your time, and it’s something you can brag about being part of – a photo op, an article to get your name in the paper for doing something so small it may seem insignificant to you, but it really matters to people like me.”

Mr. Jameson didn’t say anything for a minute, so Maisie wondered if he was still on the phone.

“I’ll get you the time. Five minutes.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Yes. Colter Stone is an asshole. No one here likes the guy. So, this is a chance to get back at him more than anything.”

“Oh,” she said, trying not to be disappointed.

“He’s blocked this both times now because he doesn’t want anything to stick in this town. He just wants to be able to move businesses and people like pieces on a chessboard whenever he can use those moves to benefit himself and his career. I disagree with that approach. Yes, I take and use those favors because that’s how you get things done around here, but I think we can do with more appreciation for our past and the things that have made New Orleans great for centuries.”

“That’s great. Thank you,” Maisie replied, trying not to seethe because it had beenColterwho had blocked her twice, and while she’d suspected it, she hadn’t known that for sure until now.

“I must be going now,” Mr. Jameson told her. “I’ll see you at the meeting.”

“Yes, thank you,” she repeated.

???

“Well, we’re celebrating,” Lainey said hours later when Maisie told her the news. “And I need to tell you something anyway.”

“Tell me something?”

“Yes. But I’m starving, so let’s go to Candace’s to grab a burger, and I’ll tell you there. Do you want to invite India?”

“I don’t know. I don’t feel like going out.”

“Why not? You just got back on the agenda after that Colter guy screwed you over again. Call India. She can hear what I have to say. I could use all the advice I can get.”

“Advice for what?” Maisie asked.

“Just close the shop and let’s go,” Lainey said.

“Is Paige coming?”

“No, she’s not. She’s running practice tonight.”

“Why? You’re the head coach.”

“Well, I havetwothings to tell you about,” Lainey said and laughed a little. “Let’s go.”

When they walked into Candace’s, Maisie followed her best friend over to the table in the corner and sat down quickly.She was happy that she had gotten on the agenda, but she couldn’t escape the feeling that she’d left things in a bad place with India, and she needed to fix that. Inviting her out with Lainey, who was a little on the hyper side right now, wasn’t the best idea, though.

“Okay. So, Paige is running practice tonight because we told the girls I was sick, but the reality is that Paige is going to be the new head coach, so we wanted her to get in the practice.”

“What? That’s your job.”

“Not anymore. I mean, yes, it is until the end of the season, but after that, I’ll be an assistant coach at a Division-III school,” she said.

“College?”

“Yes. I know it’s not exactly the big leagues, but they’re local, and their head coach is going to retire in a year or two, so it’s possible I will get to take over, and maybe I can get a Division-I job after that. I don’t know yet. Paige is already an amazing coach, though, and today was more of a scrimmage and a light workout than anything, so we thought it would be good practice for her and for the team to get used to her being in charge. Also, I’m going to ask Paige to marry me, and I’ll need to quit the bookstore at the beginning of the year when the new job starts.”

Maisie’s eyes went wide because that was a lot of information to take in all at once. She had only expected the part about Lainey asking Paige to marry her, which she had been waiting for, but Lainey having a new jobandhaving to quit the shop was a lot for her to process.